Organising a press meet to make public the accused on Tuesday, Superintendent of Police Lokendra Bahadur Malla said 28-year-old Kanhaiya Gupta of Kalaiya-4 has confessed to the crime. Malla said Gupa lured the minor girl who went to a local weekly bazaar with her father on Friday and raped her.

“He seems to have committed the crime under the influence of alcohol,” Malla said.

In his statement to police, Gupta admitted to the crime and said he was ready to face any kind of punishment. Police said Gupa was arrested on the basis of information provided by locals.

The victim, who went missing on Friday evening and was found unconscious the following day, is undergoing treatment in Kathmandu. She was airlifted to the Capital on Saturday with donations from local residents.

Her family members, meanwhile, said they are having a hard time managing funds for her treatment owing to their poor financial condition.

On Sunday, over 1000 students from various schools in Kalaiya staged demonstrations against such incidents and submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister through local authorities demanding security.